It is one of four films which lay claim to being the first "New Zealand talkie"; however The Devil's Pit and Hei Tiki had sound added in America, and On the Friendly Road was not released until 1936. Little footage and no script of the film have survived.
A comedy of farm life, the film was shot mainly in Otago and Southland, and most of the cast were from Dunedin.[5] The story is about two rival farmers, who have to resolve their differences when their children fall in love.[6]
Down on the Farm had its first public screening at midnight on 2 May 1935 in Dunedin. The report in the Otago Daily Times the next day commended the photography, production and acting, but found these achievements were "seriously circumscribed as a result of the dubious quality of the scenario". It described the leading actress, Daphne Murdoch, as "a very engaging star. She has the happy knack of photographing well at all times".[7]
The film was not a financial success in New Zealand. It was unsuccessful in securing a release in the UK, where Cine Weekly said of it: "The dialogue is a joke, the acting amateurish and the photography poor. After this our colonial cousins will be well advised to restrict their exports to mutton."[6]
Referencesedit
New Zealand Film 1912–1996 by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards p45 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland) ISBN019 558336 1
^"N.Z. Boy's Lucky Trip". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 4 April 1936. p. 25. Retrieved 12 September 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
^New Zealand Film 1912–1996 by Helen Martin & Sam Edwards p47 (1997, Oxford University Press, Auckland) ISBN019-558336-1
^Down on the Farm at Film Archive accessed 12 September 2013
^"PICTURES AND PERSONALITIES". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 15 February 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 12 September 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
^"New Zealand Film". Auckland Star: 5 (supplement). 2 March 1935.
^ ab"Down on the Farm". Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
down, farm, 1935, film, down, farm, 1935, zealand, film, zealand, first, sound, feature, down, farmdirected, bystewart, pittproduced, bylee, hillstarringdaphne, murdoch, hould, ronald, sinclair, cinematographylee, hillrelease, date1935, 1935, running, time6300. Down on the Farm is a 1935 New Zealand film It was New Zealand s first sound feature 3 4 Down on the FarmDirected byStewart PittProduced byLee HillStarringDaphne Murdoch Ra Hould 1 Ronald Sinclair 2 CinematographyLee HillRelease date1935 1935 Running time6300 ft 105 minCountryNew ZealandLanguageEnglish It is one of four films which lay claim to being the first New Zealand talkie however The Devil s Pit and Hei Tiki had sound added in America and On the Friendly Road was not released until 1936 Little footage and no script of the film have survived A comedy of farm life the film was shot mainly in Otago and Southland and most of the cast were from Dunedin 5 The story is about two rival farmers who have to resolve their differences when their children fall in love 6 Down on the Farm had its first public screening at midnight on 2 May 1935 in Dunedin The report in the Otago Daily Times the next day commended the photography production and acting but found these achievements were seriously circumscribed as a result of the dubious quality of the scenario It described the leading actress Daphne Murdoch as a very engaging star She has the happy knack of photographing well at all times 7 The film was not a financial success in New Zealand It was unsuccessful in securing a release in the UK where Cine Weekly said of it The dialogue is a joke the acting amateurish and the photography poor After this our colonial cousins will be well advised to restrict their exports to mutton 6 References editNew Zealand Film 1912 1996 by Helen Martin amp Sam Edwards p45 1997 Oxford University Press Auckland ISBN 019 558336 1 N Z Boy s Lucky Trip The Advertiser Adelaide 4 April 1936 p 25 Retrieved 12 September 2013 via National Library of Australia New Zealand Film 1912 1996 by Helen Martin amp Sam Edwards p47 1997 Oxford University Press Auckland ISBN 019 558336 1 Down on the Farm at Film Archive accessed 12 September 2013 PICTURES AND PERSONALITIES The Mercury Hobart Tasmania 15 February 1936 p 5 Retrieved 12 September 2013 via National Library of Australia New Zealand Film Auckland Star 5 supplement 2 March 1935 a b Down on the Farm Nga Taonga Sound amp Vision Retrieved 10 January 2022 Amusements Otago Daily Times 15 3 May 1935 External links editDown on the Farm at BFI Surviving footage at Nga Taonga Sound amp Vision nbsp This article related to a New Zealand film is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Down on the Farm 1935 film amp oldid 1222567628, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
